What Happily Ever After Feels Like
by pepgrrrl7
Summary: The ending scene of Tangled...but with a gender switch! Eugenia Fitzherbert /Fiona Ryder must save the life of her beloved, golden haired boy and get her happily ever after!


"Rapunzel!" Eugenia Fitzherbert (a.k.a. Fiona Ryder) screamed at the top of her lungs. "Rapunzel let down your hair!" She waited for a moment, the started to climb up the extremely tall tower. Eugenia didn't want to make that difficult climb again, but by God, she had to save that beautiful boy with that long, girly magical hair. She had to explain that she didn't betray him, she had to save him from his father, and she had to tell him how much she loved him.

To her relief, Rapunzel's long golden tresses flew through the tower window. He was okay! She grabbed hold and allowed herself to be hoisted up. When she reached the top she hurried through the window, crying out joyfully "Rapunzel, I'd thought I'd never see you again!" But the color ran from her face as she saw the love of her life bound and gagged on the tower floor. He strained against his bonds towards her and screamed her name through the gag.

Then, pain erupted in her side and she felt the hot stickiness of her own blood on her shirt. She cried out in pain and slumped to the floor. Rapunzel screamed, agonized and enraged.

"Now look what you've done Rapunzel." The chilling voice of Father Gothel scolded from above her. He sneered down at Eugenia and stepped over her. "But don't worry son" he said, tossing the dagger away, still wet with her blood. "Our secret will die with her."

Gothel made his way towards Rapunzel, who was fighting with every bit of strength he had. Gothel yanked on Rapunzel's chain, dragging him towards the door. "And as for us, we are going where no one will _ever _find you again!"

Rapunzel kept fighting to get to Eugenia, his eyes desperate and wild. Gothel kept pulling, grunting and looking agitated. Eugenia would have laughed at his expression were she not laying on the floor in a puddle of her own blood.

"Oh Rapunzel, really! Quit being a baby! Stop…fighting…me!" Gothel yelled.

Rapunzel twisted and broke free of his gag. He turned around towards Gothel, hate showing plainly in his face. "NO!" he bellowed. "I won't stop! For every minute of the rest of my life I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!" Gothel's eyes showed a hint of fear for a split second, as if he finally saw Rapunzel, not as a boy, but as a grown man. A man who would carry out revenge on the man who killed the woman he loved.

"But," Rapunzel continued, breathing hard "if you let me save her, I will go with you."

"No." Eugenia moaned, reaching out towards him. "No Rapunzel, please."

Rapunzel continued "I will never run, or try to escape. Just let me heal her and you I and will be together, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise. Just like you want" Rapunzel's face was passive, but his eyes pleaded with Gothel. "Just let me heal her."

Gothel looked down at his "son", and then made his way towards Eugenia. She recoiled away from him. He sat her up straight against a stone pillar and chained her right arm to it. He leaned down and hissed in her ear "Just so you don't get any ideas about following us." She gasped in pain as he roughly threw down her arms. He then untied Rapunzel, who rushed towards her. He lifted her into his lap.

"Eugenia!" he cried out, holding her gently as she coughed. His hand moved to her abdomen, to where Gothel stabbed her. His face went white as he saw a puncture wound. "Oh God, I'm so sorry." He said breathlessly. He wanted to murder Gothel then, to see the life leave his eyes, but he concentrated on Eugenia. He grabbed a handful of his golden hair and tried to press it onto her abdomen. "Everything is going to be alright."

Eugenia pushed his hand away with what strength she had. "No Rapunzel." She moaned.

He pointedly ignored her and tried to press it to her wound again. "Just trust me sweetheart. Breathe."

"No." she said as forcefully as she could. She struggled to sit up straighter, so she could get a better look into those beautiful green eyes that she often found herself getting lost in. "I can't…let you…do this!" she gasped out.

Rapunzel's voice broke. "And I can't let you die."

"But if you…do this….then you… will die." Eugenia said tears leaking out of her brown eyes. It wasn't from pain. It was from the horrible knowledge of Rapunzel's fate if he did this and left with Gothel. He _would _die. Maybe not quickly, but he would gradually wilt like a flower and crumble. And so would she, without him.

"Hey." He whispered, giving her a sweet half smile. "It's going to be alright."

Eugenia looked deep into his eyes and smiled weakly up at him. He smiled down at her, and brushed a strand of her short brown hair out of her face. He gently pressed his own hair to he wound.

"Rapunzel." She whispered. "Wait." She lifted her head up towards him, and his eyes filled with love and he bent his head down, making his hair tickle her cheeks. His hands cupped her face and she reached her hand up to run her fingers through his hair. She grabbed it all at the back of his head in her fist. Just as his lips brushed hers, Eugenia grip tightened on the shard of broken mirror. In one swift motion, she sliced the shard through his hair, cutting it all off. Eugenia smiled weakly in triumph as her vision blurred and the shard fell out of her hand.

"Eugenia wha-." Rapunzel said, shocked as he ran his hands through his dark brown hair that barely brushed his ears.

"NO!" Gothel screamed horrified. Rapunzel's 70 feet of golden, magical hair turn dark brown in his fists as he grabbed at it frantically, aging before their very eyes. "No!" he screamed again as he saw his weak, wrinkled hand. "What have you done? What have you done?" He got a glance at his withered, ruined face in the shards of the mirror. He cried out like an animal while pulling his hood over his head, ashamed of his face. He backed up near the ledge.

"Father!" Rapunzel cried out. But it was too late. Gothel slipped out of the window and fell. But instead of hearing the sickening smack of body against ground, all that was heard was a cloak fluttering to the ground. Father Gothel had turned to dust.

Rapunzel sat there shocked. His "father" was dead, his hair was gone, Eugenia was…

_Eugenia._

Rapunzel whirled around and gathered Eugenia into his arms. Her head rolled back limply. He eyes were closed, and her breathing was shallow. "No! Eugenia!" he cried out, shaking her. "Look at me!" Eugenia opened her eyes and coughed weakly. "Look at me sweetheart, okay? Stay with me please!" he begged, grabbing her small hand and pressing it to his short, brown hair. His voice broke as he sang the rhyme. "_Flower gleam and g-glow. Let your p-power s-shine. Make the clock reverse."_

"Rapunzel." Eugenia whispered.

_"Bring back what once was mine." _Rapunzel whispered, his voice shaking. He had to try, maybe the magic still worked…

"Rapunzel." Eugenia whispered again, louder this time.

"What?" he asked, blinking back tears.

Eugenia looked into his eyes as the life began to fade from her eyes. She smiled weakly at him as a tear escaped out of the corner of her eye. "You were my new dream."

Tears filled Rapunzel's eyes as he brushed the tear away from her cheek. He loved her with his entire being. He looked down at her small, vulnerable body and tears slid down his cheeks as he said "And you were mine."

Eugenia's smile widened at this confession of love. Rapunzel watched as the life left her eyes and she closed them. She went limp in his arms. Rapunzel simply looked at her, heartbroken. He ran a finger along her jaw and kissed her forehead. His life was over. Everything was over.

He leaned in close and sang softly. _"Heal what has been hurt. Change the fate's design. Save was has been lost. Bring back what once was mine." _He pressed his cheek against hers. He cried as he spoke the last line to the song. "What once was…mine." A tear slipped from his cheek and landed like a raindrop onto Eugenia's cheek.

At first, he didn't notice it. But then he lifted his tear streaked face and saw a beautiful golden light spill from Eugenia's wound. The light twisted and circled in the air, filling the entire room with its glorious aurora. The light spread over Eugenia, and made the shape of a blooming flower. Rapunzel watched in amazement as the lighted dimmed. The sun peaked through the clouds onto Eugenia.

Rapunzel looked down into her face. Her eyes fluttered open. "Rapunzel." she whispered.

He held her face in his hands. "Eugenia?" he whispered, not yet allowing himself to believe that it really was her.

She gave him a sly grin. "Did I ever tell you that I've got a thing for brunettes?"

A smile split his face. "Eugenia!" he cried out as he pulled her into sitting position in his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around her, with no intent of ever letting her go again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest, tears of joy sliding down her face. She loved this man. _She loved this man_. She had never loved anything before, and had never even come close to having something love her back, but here she was, and she had never felt more complete in her entire life.

Rapunzel pulled away, still grinning, and kissed her. She kissed him back immediately and realized, joyfully, that this must be exactly what _happily ever after_ felt like.


End file.
